by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Asaduddin Owaisi
Hyderabad : Strongly opposing the proposed legislation on triple talaq, MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday called for unity among Indian Muslims to protect the ‘shariat’.
Stating that the Supreme Court verdict on the issue is confusing and nobody can say if uttering talaq thrice in one sitting annuls marriage or it is considered only one talaq, he wondered how the government can bring a bill in the Parliament.
The Member of Parliament asked the Narendra Modi government if it would provide financial aid to women if their husbands were sent to jail for three years.
Addressing a public meeting at MIM headquarters Darussalam on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabbi, he warned that the legislation could lead to a new problem of husbands abandoning their wives.
He criticised Modi for speaking about the rights of Muslim women but ignoring the “Hindu sisters”. Claiming that “20 lakh Hindu women are abandoned by their husbands”, Owaisi asked Modi if he would come to their rescue as well.
He said the Sangh Pariwar shows sympathy for Muslim women but was not allowing a film to be released.
“When you can’t allow a film (‘Padmavati’) to be released, how can you interfere in my shariat,” Owaisi asked.
The MIM President said Muslims should learn a lesson from Rajputs who despite being less in numbers came together to stop the release of the film.
“If Muslims can unite to strengthen the country and to save shariat, we can definitely do something,” he added.
The MP said the community should also learn lessons from Patels, Gujjars, Jats and Marathas who came together to fight for their rights and for reservation.
On Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s statement that the Taj Mahal is not part of Indian culture, and BJP describing the monument as symbol of slavery, Owaisi asked why Modi hosted a dinner in Falaknuma Palace here for US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and others.
“You have to see the symbols of our forefathers,” he remarked while also referring to the other dinner hosted at Golconda Fort for delegates of Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) this week.
Referring to the Gujarat elections, the MIM chief said the leaders of both BJP and Congress were vying with each other in visiting temples and every leader claiming himself to be a “bigger Hindu than the other”.
He alleged that both the parties were competing with each other in offering reservation for various communities but were united in opposing quota for Muslims. He described both the parties as “hypocrites”.
On former US President Barack Obama stressing the need to nurture and cherish Indian Muslims, Owaisi said it was news for media only because a former US President has stated it.
“Our party has been saying the same for over 60 years. We have been saying that we love this country, we have faith in its Constitution and the country can strengthen if Muslims get their constitutional rights,” he said.
Targetting the Congress party, he said it blamed the MIM for dividing votes in various states to hide its failure to defeat Modi. He recalled that his party had contested only 28 seats out of 400 in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
“In the civic polls in UP, we won 32 seats but Congress got only 19 seats and could not win a single seat in Amethi,” he added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
Frank F. Islam
On August 22, 2017, the Supreme Court of India ruled that “triple talaq”- the practice which allows a man to divorce his wife instantly by saying the word “talaq three times “- is unconstitutional. Predictably, the Supreme Court ruling was denounced by a number of Muslim leaders and organizations. Some interpreted it as an attack on their religion and way of life. Others saw a conspiracy angle in the importance given to an issue.
This perspective is desperate and distorted. This perspective is not only wrong. It is wrong headed, misplaced and misguided.
I applaud this judgement because I strongly believe that Muslim Instant Divorce is illegal and incorrect in many ways. Instant Divorce is deplorable, disgraceful, and shameful. In addition, it is demeaning, demonizing, disheartening, and demoralizing to Indian Muslim Women.
Most importantly, as one of the judges pointed out, triple talaq is against the basic tenets of the Quran. Recognizing this, many Islamic countries, including two of India’s large Muslim neighbors – Pakistan and Bangladesh – have abolished the practice.
In addition, it is unconscionable to think that a man should be allowed to banish a woman to whom he is married to-who is also the mother of his child or children, in many cases- by uttering a word three times, with no consequences. Triple talaq is also inherently discriminatory in that only a man has that “right” — a Muslim woman cannot end the marriage in a similar way.
Over the years, some Muslim organizations have rationalized the triple talaq by arguing that divorce rates within their community are quite low compared to other religious groups. It affects less than a third of a percent of Muslim women, they argue. This is neither a sound legal nor moral argument. Even if one concedes that instant divorce affects only a minuscule population, injustice should never have legal sanction, regardless of how many people are affected.
The triple talaq ruling, the result of a decades-long campaign by women’s rights groups, was a historic verdict. With the stroke of a pen, the judges made it illegal a practice that over the decades has ruined the lives of countless Indian Muslim women.
In the absence of a comprehensive study among Indian Muslim women, it is not known how many women have been divorced in this manner. A 2013 survey of Muslim women in 10 Indian states by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, an advocacy group that fights for the rights of Indian Muslims, found that triple talaq is the most common mode of divorce among those surveyed.
Of the 4,710 women sampled in the survey, 525 were divorcees. 404 of the divorcees were victims of “triple talaq”. More than 80 percent of them did not receive any compensation at the time of divorce. Two of the five judges that issued the triple talaq judgment differed on the constitutionality of practice. The bench was in unanimous agreement, however, in asking the government of India to enact legislation to govern Muslim marriage and divorce within six months.
The justice system in India has numerous drawbacks. Often it takes decades for courts to deliver justice. In this instance, the Supreme Court should be applauded for delivering the correct judgment in a timely manner.
The ball is now in the hands of the government. It is up to people’s representatives to come up with policies that will change the lives of Muslim women for the better.
Equitable legislation regarding Muslim marriage and divorce should be just the starting point. I firmly believe that the central and state governments must craft policies that empower women, belonging to all castes, creeds, and religions.
The empowerment policies should focus on educating women, developing their skills, and making them part of the work force. Empowerment of this type will allow them to pursue and create their own destiny. It will lead to financial independence. In addition, it will promote security and stability for women and will build their self-esteem and confidence.
The Indian Muslim community should embrace the Supreme Court’s verdict. They should join together to say: End triple talaq. End triple talaq. End triple talaq. They should also use the Court’s decision as the opportunity to advocate for and bring about much needed reforms related to women’s rights.
(Frank Islam is an Entrepreneur, Civic Leader, and Thought Leader based in Washington DC area. His web site is www.frankislam.com)
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Frank F. Islam,
On August 22, the Supreme Court ruled that triple talaq — the practice which allows a man to divorce his wife instantly by saying the word talaq thrice — is unconstitutional. Predictably, the ruling was denounced by a number of Muslim leaders and organisations. Some interpreted it as an attack on their religion and way of life. Others saw a conspiracy angle in the importance given to an issue.
This perspective is desperate and distorted. This perspective is not only wrong but also wrong-headed, misplaced and misguided.
I applaud this judgement because I strongly believe that Muslim instant divorce is illegal and incorrect in many ways. Instant divorce is deplorable, disgraceful and shameful. In addition, it is demeaning, demonising, disheartening and demoralising to Indian Muslim women.
Most importantly, as one of the judges pointed out, triple talaq is against the basic tenets of the Quran. Recognising this, many Islamic countries, including two of India’s large Muslim neighbours — Pakistan and Bangladesh — have abolished the practice.
In addition, it is unconscionable to think that a man should be allowed to banish a woman to whom he is married — who is also the mother of his child or children, in many cases — by uttering a word three times, with no consequences. Triple talaq is also inherently discriminatory in that only a man has that “right” — a Muslim woman cannot end the marriage in a similar way.
Over the years, some Muslim organisations have rationalised triple talaq by arguing that divorce rates within their community are quite low compared to other religious groups. It affects less than a third of a per cent of Muslim women, they argue. This is neither a sound legal nor moral argument. Even if one concedes that instant divorce affects only a minuscule population, injustice should never have legal sanction, regardless of how many people are affected.
The triple talaq ruling, the result of a decades-long campaign by women’s rights groups, was a historic verdict. With the stroke of a pen, the judges made illegal a practice that over the decades has ruined the lives of countless Indian Muslim women.
In the absence of a comprehensive study among Indian Muslim women, it is not known how many of them have been divorced in this manner. A 2013 survey of Muslim women in 10 Indian states by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, an advocacy group that fights for the rights of Indian Muslims, found that triple talaq was the most common mode of divorce among those surveyed.
Of the 4,710 women sampled in the survey, 525 were divorcees. Of them, 404 were victims of triple talaq. More than 80 per cent of them did not receive any compensation at the time of divorce.
Two of the five judges that delivered the triple talaq judgment differed on the constitutionality of practice. The bench was in unanimous agreement, however, in asking the government to enact within six months legislation to govern Muslim marriages and divorces.
India’s justice system has numerous drawbacks. It often takes decades for courts to deliver justice. In this instance, the Supreme Court should be applauded for delivering a correct judgment in a timely manner.
The ball is now in the government’s court. It is up to people’s representatives to come up with policies that will change the lives of Muslim women for the better.
Equitable legislation on Muslim marriages and divorces should be just the starting point. The central and state governments must craft policies that empower women belonging to all castes, creeds and religions. Such policies should focus on educating women, developing their skills and making them part of the work force. Empowerment of this type will allow them to pursue and create their own destiny. It will lead to financial independence. In addition, it will promote the security and stability of women and will build their self-esteem and confidence.
India’s Muslim community should embrace the Supreme Court verdict. They should join together to say: End triple talaq. End triple talaq. End triple talaq. They should leverage the verdict as an opportunity to advocate for and bring about much-needed reforms related to women’s rights.
(Frank Islam is an entrepreneur, civic leader and thought Leader based in the Washington DC area. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at ffislam@verizon.net)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News
A view of the AIMPLB meeting in progress
By Pervez Bari,
Bhopal, Sep 12 : The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, (AIMPLB), has passed a resolution to constitute a committee to examine the Supreme Court judgement on instant Triple Talaq to see the inconsistencies, if any, with the Islamic Shariat. The Committee shall also advise the method and process for undertaking large scale community reform programme within the Islamic Sharia (Islah-e-Mashrah).
The above decision was taken by the AIMPLB in its Executive Committee’s marathon meeting here on Sunday. The Board again accused the government of attempting an attack on Muslim personal laws, and welcomed the court order for not going in that direction. The meeting did not discuss filing a review petition against the Supreme Court order holding instant triple talaq (Talaq-e-Biddat) illegal.
It may be recalled here that on August 22, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, by a 3-2 majority verdict, had held the practice of instant triple talaq illegal. Several Muslim organisations, including the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, among the oldest in the country, had objected to this, saying that instant triple talaq should continue and be recognised as a legitimate divorce among Muslims even if that meant courting punishment as per the law of the land.
Addressing a joint Press Conference Executive Committee Members said the AIMPLB has further resolved to initiate different programmes at different levels to educate Muslim women and men on Shariah and in this process it shall take assistance from different organisations. The Board also resolved to take appropriate steps to ensure help to divorced ladies. It shall urge upon the government to grant financial assistance to Waqf Boards for this purpose.
Kamal Farooqui, member of the Executive Committee, on behalf of the Board made a categorical statement that the Muslim Community cannot and shall not tolerate such attack on personal law of the community. He said in the light of the Government India had laid bare its intention in the form of Attorney General’s submission in the Supreme Court that all forms of dissolution of marriage without intervention of the court should be declared as unconstitutional.
“We record our displeasure and consider it as attack on personal law of Muslims. This stand of the present government is contrary to the protection guaranteed by the Constitution of India”, Farooqui emphasised.
Dr. Asma Zehra, the convenor of AIMPLB’s Women Wing, addressing Press Conference at Bhopal
Replying to a question Dr. Asma Zehra, the convenor of AIMPLB’s Women Wing, Board’s position, as per Shariah applicable the four Sunni School of thought has been that the Talaq-e-Biddat is sinful but valid. Prior to the judgement the Board had already submitted to the Supreme Court that the AIMPLB had passed a resolution on 16-04-2017 stating that those who indulge in Talaq-e-Biddat should be socially boycotted.
Dr. Zehra pointed out Sunday’s resolution said Islamic/Sharia law is based upon Quran, Hadith, Ijma and Qiyas and that the sanctity of belief and practices in personal/matrimonial relationship in Islamic laws cannot be treated differently from the belief and practices in personal/matrimonial relationship by other citizens who follow own customs and practices.
She claimed 99 per cent of Muslim women are in favour of Muslim personal law. “In the name of showing sympathy with Muslim women, a door is being opened to interfere in our religion.” She added that there would be a lot of difficulties in implementing the SC order on triple talaq.
Babri Masjid case
Meanwhile, the AIMPLB executive committee also expressed its surprise over the Supreme Court’s decision to begin hearing the Babri Masjid case on a daily day-to-day basis. Noting that the court had previously found it impossible to speed up the hearing because it had to go through a lot of documents, the board said it would abide by whatever the court decides. However, the process has to be judicial without bringing politics into it. It’s related to property, it’s a title suit.
Adv. Zafaryab Jeelani, member of the Executive Committee, said the court had now given very little time to the two parties, and that there was not enough time to translate all the documents. Saying “we would do our best”, the board said, “We feel this may be used as a plank by a certain political party. We want the might and respect of the court should not be compromised. Court is our last resort.” “Justice hurried is Justice buried”, he quipped.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Hailing the Supreme Court verdict on triple talaq, the CPI-M has alleged that the BJP was trying to impose a uniform civil code on people.
“The BJP is trying to utilise the arguments against triple talaq as grounds for imposing a uniform civil code,” an editorial in the CPI-M journal People’s Democracy said. “This is a deliberate misreading of the verdict.
“The majority judgment was clear that it is only addressing talaq-e-bidat and not all forms of talaq under Muslim personal law.
“The court did not accept the arguments of the Attorney General representing the central government to widen the scope of the court intervention to other aspects of divorce under Muslim personal law.”
A five-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down instant triple talaq as illegal and violative of the rights of Muslim women.
“This majority verdict by 3 to 2 is a victory for Muslim women who have suffered under the arbitrary use of talaq-e-bidat which is instant talaq,” the Communist Party of India-Marxist said.
Amongst the majority of three, two of the judges argued that instant triple talaq violated the fundamental right to equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution.
The third judge has said it was illegal as it was not sanctioned by the Quran and Islamic religious practice.
“The stance of the two judges in the minority that personal law is protected under the Constitution and therefore immune to the equality test is regressive and contrary to the secular principle,” the editorial said.
“What is required is to work for equal rights for women within each religious community and to get reforms undertaken in this direction. Uniformity is not equality.
“And a uniform civil code is no guarantee for justice.
“The BJP government is not willing to have a law against honour killings. On the contrary under this government even secular laws applicable to all women are being sought to be diluted such as Section 498 A of the IPC.
“The Supreme Court judgment will strengthen the resolve of women to continue to struggle for reform within their personal laws. This applies not only to Muslim women but to all women belonging to Hindu and other religious communities.”
—IANS
